“Market Urbanism” refers to the synthesis of classical liberal economics and ethics (market), with an appreciation of the urban way of life and its benefits to society (urbanism). We advocate for the emergence of bottom up solutions to urban issues, as opposed to ones imposed from the top down.

Planners, like all professions, have their own useful mythologies. A popular one goes something like this: “Many years ago, us planners did naughty things. We pushed around the poor, demolished minority neighborhoods, and forced gentrification. But that’s all over today. Now we protect the … [Read more...]

A metropolitan economy, if it is working well, is constantly transforming many poor people into middle-class people, many illiterates into skilled people, many greenhorns into competent citizens. … Cities don’t lure the middle class. They create it.
– Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great … [Read more...]

1. Development blogger Roving Bandit criticizes UN-Habitat executive director Joan Clos for saying that Africa is "confronted with [...] the challenge of preventing the formation of new slums." I wonder if Clos thinks that the Lower East Side was born with yoga studios and Starbucks.2. A kidney … [Read more...]